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“Why do you have a Gold credit card if you’re a Delta Diamond or whatever? Why are you using a Gold card if you’re not Gold anymore? And why don’t you have a Diamond credit card this year?”
Sound familiar?
This was part of a conversation I had last year with a friend interested in points and miles while I took out my American Express® Gold Card to pay for lunch. Things only got more confusing when he saw the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card in my wallet. (“Shouldn’t you use your Reserve card if you’re Reserve level? I thought you’re Diamond!”)
Many of us involved with the miles and points hobby are pretty clear about differents levels of loyalty program status and credit card brands. But people not as familiar get understandably confused — especially when it comes to Delta SkyMiles, American Express, and their co-branded credit card products.
It’s very easy for people to get Delta SkyMiles Platinum Medallion status mixed up with Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Cards, or the non-Delta American Express Platinum personal and business cards. Same goes with the gold flavors of status, SkyMiles credit cards, and Amex-branded cards.
What do you think? Should Delta and American Express come up with different names for the Gold and Platinum SkyMiles credit cards?
Like, why isn’t the Reserve card called the Diamond card? After all, Diamond follows Gold and Platinium in the Delta SkyMiles hierarchy of things, right? And why doesn’t poor Silver have a credit card named after it?
I’ve heard several people get The Platinum Card® from American Express confused with the Platinum Delta SkyMiles Credit Card from American Express. More than one person told me they thought the Platinum Delta SkyMiles card came with complimentary access to Delta Sky Clubs.
“That’s stupid,” one friend said, “Why doesn’t the Delta Platinum credit card get you into their lounges — but the basic American Express Platinum does?”
To be honest, he had a very valid point.
A family friend told me a couple of years ago she signed up for the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card — and expected SkyPriority boarding, as well as complimentary first class and Comfort Plus upgrades. Why? Because those are the perks Delta SkyMiles Gold Medallion members receive.
Sure, Amex got her business for a year — until she canceled the card when the annual fee hit. She was upset, feeling she’d been played and duped.
I see where she, too, is coming from.
Read the Not-So-Fine Print!
On the flip side, people need to read what perks and benefits individual airline and hotel credit cards offer.
While many hotel cards such as the IHG One Rewards Premier Card offer complimentary status (IHG Platinum in this case) or others like the Amex Platinum cards (Marriott and Hilton Gold), no such benefit exists — as far as I know — for airline cards.
But naming your loyalty program’s status tiers and cobranded credit cards after the same color (and metal, in this instance) when none of them directly have anything to do with each other can be confusing — and appear deceptive, even if that’s not the intent.
Should Delta and American Express Rebrand/Rename the SkyMiles Credit Cards? What Names Do You Suggest?
Do you think the SkyMiles credit cards should be rebranded/renamed? (And maybe with some better points earnings, too.) What (appropriate) names do you think would be good for the Delta SkyMiles credit cards?
Please share your thoughts in the Comments section!
–Chris
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Why would someone want the gold and reserve card? Doesn’t the reserve already have all the benefits of gold? Or is the gold here still fresh from a sign up bonus?
I reread and makes sense now. Proved this article’s point!
I really think delta/amex is going to create a new level of card: “diamond” card or whatever, with something like a $925 annual fee (billed semi annual, or monthly), but included are things like executive sky club, RUC after each 25,000 spend, even more enhanced upgrade priority. and three mqm tiers. I think it would be great if the ‘enhanced priority’ treated the ticket like 2 fare classes higher, but capped at y. So for example if you bought y, b or m, the upgrade algorithm would see it as y. and if you bought q it would look like you bought b.
Seems odd to me that by today’s standards people think credit card marketing has anything to do with service industry loyalty programs. I had diamond and platinum cards in college. I guess this is educating me as well that it’s a thing that people think gold and platinum credit cards are a reward for skymile achievements.
Delta should have there color levels match the Amex cards it makes sense but it doesn’t its Willy Nilly I have Platinum Delta Amex it’s not the Same as Platinum Amex Perks are way better then Plat Delta card but cost 4 times as much I’m willing to pay more for better perks with PlatAmex you get entry to SkyClub not charge . Delta Plat Amex no entry Delta Rebrand with better perks tied to there FF levels and higher fees would be a good thing . right now I carry both cards I willing to drop Amex Platinum if the Perks with Delta Platinum Card were comparable to Amex Platinum
This is actually a big problem, though I would rather Delta fix it by giving reserve cardholders access to AmEx lounges since AmEx platinum cardholders are filling the Sky Club lounges at airports without an AmEx lounge. Marriott had the same problem with Chase-issued credit cards. You could be a Marriott platinum and have a Marriott premier card — making you literally a platinum premier — but not actually be a platinum premier, the discontinued unpublished top-level elite status in legacy Marriott Rewards.
Given what a dumpster fire Skymiles is, I think that reversing some of the horrific devaluations would be more of a priority than confusing people by switching around the names on cards or elite statuses.
Can I be your friend?
“This was part of a conversation I had last year with a friend interested in points and miles while I took out my American Express® Gold Card to pay for lunch.”
What time is lunch?
@Bob L:
I’m not paying today because it’s my birthday! 
But maybe tomorrow.